The Christmas Curse
by x-careless.whisper-x
Summary: Some girls get jewelleries from their boyfriends on Christmas. Gabriella gets her heart broken. However, while this year she got dumped by her boyfriend, she's also stuck going to her family dinner with him. TxG Oneshot


The Christmas Curse

Summary: Some girls get jewelleries from their boyfriends on Christmas. Gabriella gets her heart broken. However, while this year she got dumped by her boyfriend, she's also stuck going to her family dinner with him. TxG Oneshot

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot. **

Gabriella's P.O.V.:

As far as I can remember, I have always had the worse luck when it came to gifts. When I was 3, my picture book got eaten by my dog; when I was 10 my Game Boy got stolen by my mean cousin (one week later he lost it)... I won't name all of them because as a child, those have been traumatising moments. As I got to the age to get a boyfriend, they would break up with me one or two days before Christmas. Therefore, Christmas day for me was spent eating ice cream and wallowing in self-pity. Some girls are blessed with beauty, others are blessed with luck; me, I'm blessed with the gift of having my boyfriends break up with me for Christmas.

Last Christmas I met this amazing guy and I really thought the curse was broken (since we met on Christmas day and all), as it turns out, I was wrong.

"We can still be friends," he says.

I blubber out some incoherent sounds in response, which I'm sure must've made me appear even more like a fool. A crying fool, with running make-up no less.

"I wonnn wannnna beee yuuuur frien," I repeat.

"I'm sorry Gabriella. I don't know what to say. You're an amazing girl and a part of me will always belong to you, but we can't be together."

You might think after all the times I've been dumped it would become easier each time. Let me tell you, getting your heart broken is always hard.

"Listen, we can still go to your parents' tomorrow…"

"No!" I exclaim interrupting him.

There is no way I'm going to a family dinner with my ex-boyfriend.

"I really don't want to leave you face your family alone," he admit. "That would be really rude of me."

Was he kidding? Dumping me on Christmas Eve is rude!

"I don't want you to come with me," I state, sharply.

"But I already promised you, three months ago."

"Fuck the promise. I. Don't. Want. You. To. Come. With. Me. Understand?"

I mean, really? This is the one promise he doesn't want to break? What about the one where he said he would love me forever?

"I can't do that Gab, and you know it. Promise is a pretty big word and I don't want to be the kind of guy who breaks promises."

"What about the one where you said you'd love me forever?" I hiss, teeth clenched.

But he wasn't listening. He appears to be lost in his own world.

"I'll come and pick you up tomorrow at 5 alright?"

"I told you no!"

"You better be up when I arrive, 'kay Montez?"

"Troy, I told you no!"

Oh yeah, have I mentioned his name is Troy Bolton?

"See ya later," he says walking out.

Ugh! What is his problem? Not only are my plans of spending the whole day crying my heart out completely ruined, but my plans of avoiding him forever are too. What is this life? And why is it out to get me? Gosh, how I hate Christmas.

Flashback-One year ago

_I count the money once again, checking for the fifth time in the pass hour in case I might've miscounted. Needless to say, there really is no need for Target to be open since there are no costumers on Christmas day. __Whatever, I pleaded my boss to allow me to work today. Anything is better than staying at home and think of… Oh gosh, Gabriella, stop. Don't think about this. Great, my eyes are teary again. _

"_One could think this place was abandoned," a voice remarks. _

_I jump in shocked and see a guy standing in front of me with a smirk on his face. A very attractive guy may I add. _

"_It's Christmas," I state drily. "Shouldn't you be at home with the girlfriend and the gifts and the sex?" _

_I'm being mean, I know. But hey, I'm sad okay? My boyfriend broke up with me two days ago._

"_Daammn, a little bit harsh don't ya think?" he remarks with an amused smile on his face. "And you know, you could've just asked me if you wanted to know about my relationship status. I'm single by the way." _

"_I was not asking for it," I snap. _

"_Ooh, got dumped huh?" _

"_Ugh, again with the assumptions. You don't fucking know me, so you have no right to do that!" I hiss, irritated. _

_I don't like his 'know-it-all' attitude. Even if he's right. _

"_That bad huh?" _

"_Go away before I call the cops," I threaten. _

"_This is public property!" he chuckles. Upon seeing my serious expression he says: "Please, don't make me go away, I've got nowhere to go!" _

_Say what? _

"_Huh?" _

"_Well, I mean I do have an apartment, but like I live alone. Actually I have a housemate but he went to spend Christmas with his family. I could go with my neighbour but she's mad 'cause we slept together and I didn't want to be her boyfriend." _

_I roll my eyes. Can't he see I'm so not interested in his life story right now? _

"_Listen boy, I really don't feel like listening to your babblefest, so why don't you go take it somewhere else." _

"_Point is, I'm here because I want to be here," he finishes, completely ignoring me. "Wanna know why?" _

"_No." _

"_Come on, you know you want to. It's really interesting I swear." _

_I sigh. This guy does not know how to take a hint. _

"_Fine. Humour me. Why do you want to spend the 'holiest day of the year' here instead of with your sexy neighbour?" I say, sarcastically. _

"_Because you're here!" he exclaim with a grin. _

_I glare. _

"_Not funny." _

"'_Kay, fine. I admit, I've never seen you in my life before and I do have some people I can spend Christmas with." _

_I cross my arms as he does a dramatic pause. That guy is so not funny. _

"_Oh come on you gotta give me credit for trying to entertain you!" he cries out. "I mean, I saw you from outside looking bored out of your mind and, being the nice guy I am, decided to come and humour you. That's gotta count for something right?" he asks, looking down._

_I almost feel bad. This guy was just trying to help. See, this is why they all dump me. _

"_I'm sorry. It's nothing personal; I've just been dumped by my boyfriend of 6 months. And it's kind of hard to deal with right now," I explain. _

_He still looks disheartened. _

"_Look, do you want to get some coffee after I'm done? My treat," I sigh. _

_He instantly looks up, a big smile on his face. As if he never was sad. _

"_Ha gotcha! The puppy dog look never fails!" he replies triumphantly, making my jaw drop. "My name's Troy by the way. And of course I'm up for coffee." _

_What the? _

End of Flashback

"Merry Christmas my snow angel!"

Please, please tell me that's not really him. Oh please don't tell me he's really here. I bury my face further into the pillow. Not only do I have a massive hang-over but I really am not looking forward to this road trip. Last night, I drowned my sorrow in Vodka. I hate Vodka, but I did it anyways because my life sucks.

"Come on Gabriella, we're already late," Troy declares, poking my shoulder.

Does he have to be so loud? I resist from biting his head off about being here with the hope that he'll eventually get the message and leave.

"Don't make me wake you up like I usually do. You won't like it 'cause we're exes now," he says in a sing-song voice.

How can he act so nonchalant about something that literally destroyed me?

"Okay, you asked for it, so don't be mad 'cause I did it."

He jumps on me, straddling my back and peppers my neck with kisses.

"GET OFF OF ME!" I yell twisting my body around, making him fall to the ground.

I'm ticklish on the neck. Whenever a guy would try to give me a hickey, my knee would automatically come in contact with his private part. The fact that he had the nerves to do something so intimate when we're no longer together frustrates me.

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? YOU CAN'T JUST BREAK UP WITH ME ON CHRISTMAS AND STILL KISS ME!" I scream.

Ugh, my head hurts so much right now.

"It was the only way," Troy shrugs getting off the floor. "You know you're hard to wake."

I groan, head in hands. I really shouldn't have screamed. I feel like my head's about to explode.

"Go away," I manage to get out.

"Gabriella, are you okay?" he questions.

"No. Go away," I groan.

"Do you have a headache? Blink for yes, don't blink for no."

I send him a glare. Does he have to be so fucking happy all the time?

"Oh I see. You couldn't sleep last night because you were dreading this family reunion right? I understand. I mean, you haven't seen your family for Christmas since what? Three years? And on top of that, your entire family will be there."

"No. I have a fucking headache because my fucking boyfriend fucking dumped me one day before fucking Christmas," I snap.

"Oh! That small insignificant incident!"

I send him a murderous look to make him know I'm not joking. He seems to get it because he stops smirking.

"Look Gabriella, I'm really sorry about that. I know I'm a jerk for doing this to you now, especially given your past history. But, even if you don't see it now, later you'll realise that what I did was for the best," he declares, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"For you?"

"No, for you silly," he grins.

He's so cute. Why is he so cute?

"If you really were doing it for the best, than you wouldn't have broken up with me," I reply before I could've stopped myself.

"Oh Gabi, you're so cute," he says bringing me into his chest.

Oomf. He smells so good. He still hasn't release me. Oxygen is becoming an issue.

"Mmmpphh Twoy," I groan, my words muffled by his shirt.

"You know, I really thought it would be weird to have you in my arms because of our, you know, not-togetherness. Turns out I was wrong!"

I manage to push him off of me with my hands, panting once I was liberated.

"You… almost killed me!" I say, breathing hard.

"Aw don't be silly. Now, go take your shower and I'll pack your stuff. We're already really late, you know."

I frown.

"You are such a bad ex-boyfriend," I declare.

And he is! I mean, he doesn't even act like an ex. Gosh, why does he have to make this harder than it already is? I stand up and am hit by excruciating pain in my skull.

"Ugh," I groan, sitting back down, my head in my hands.

"You have another headache? That's weird. Wait, Gabi, do you, by any chance, have a hangover?" he inquires.

I can hear the smile in his voice. Damn him.

"I hate you," I mutter.

"And you're asking me why I need to accompany you to your family reunion?"

"I didn't have a fucking hangover yesterday when you decided to fucking join me," I hiss.

"Ohhh! I get it. I'll go prepare you hangover food."

I open my mouth to stop him, but he's already out the door. Ugh. FML.

-HSM-

"We wish you a merry Christmas

We wish you a merry Christmas

We wish you a merry Christmas

And a happy new year!"

I sigh, annoyed. True to his word, Troy has prepared me 'hangover food' which consisted of eggs and left-over fries from yesterday. Then, he practically ripped my pyjama off and pushed me into the shower. He almost joined me, but I managed to close and lock the bathroom door. Now, here we are, on the road to my parents' house. Lucky for me, Troy loves to sing along to the radio.

"Stop singing," I say flatly, resting my head on the cool window.

"Oh come on Gab, cheer up. It's Christmas!" Troy exclaims, shaking my shoulder.

"What did I do to deserve this?" I mumble.

"Deserve what? Me driving you? Nothing. It's just me being my sweet kind-hearted usual self."

"I'm cursed," I state drily.

"You're what now?"

"I'm cursed with the Christmas curse. Since childhood I was doomed to have miserable Christmases, and now, well, this just tops all the other years."

"Aw don't you think you're kind of being over-dramatic Brielle?"

"I'm not! How else would you explain me getting dumped by my boyfriends every year during Christmas time? I'm cursed. Pure and simple. Christmas should just simply not exist. Or maybe it's me. Maybe, I need to leave everything for Christmas so I won't lose everything."

This all makes sense to me now. Why hadn't I thought of that before? However, I'm insulted when Troy just explodes in laughter. He pulls over on the side of the road because he's laughing so hard.

"Bolton, this is not funny," I snap, eyes narrowed.

"Hahaha you cursed? Hahahahaha Christmas curse? HAHAHAHAHA!"

"Stop laughing, I'm being serious!"

Still not hearing me, he almost has tears in his eyes. I'm starting to get really pissed off.

"STOP LAUGHING DAMNIT!" I yell.

He sort of calms down, but still has a grin on his face. He cups my cheek with his hand and says:

"You are one of a kind. If you didn't exist, I'd have to invent you."

I guess I'm sort of flattered. Oh who am I kidding? I just completely melted inside.

"Too bad you're not mine anymore," he shrugs dropping his hand.

Grrr. He just had to ruin the moment huh? Can't believe I was such a fool to almost become hypnotized by his sweet words again.

"Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer

Had a very shiny nose

And if you ever saw him,

You would even say it glows."

I just cross my arms and let him sing his ass off as we get back on the road. I'd take his horrid singing over another confusing argument any day. Because, as much as his singing hurts my ears, his bittersweet statements just makes me want to die.

Flashback-3 months ago

"_Gabriella Mon__tez, you are officially a goddess," Troy declares twirling me around in his arms. _

"_What did I do now?" I giggle. _

"_Apart from being your awesome extraordinary self? You did my laundry!" he says excitedly kissing my head repeatedly. "Thanks to you, I can finally wear my favourite shirt that I haven't worn since three months ago." _

"_Three months? Troy, do I need to teach you how to do your laundry?" I tease. _

"_If it involves the removal of your clothes then yes," he smirks, making me roll my eyes. _

_We are currently at his apartment and he just got back from work. Having a day off, he forced me to stay at his place until he came back. Bored out of my mind I did his laundry. _

"_How was work today?" I question, casually leaning on the kitchen counter. _

"_Work," he shrugs, his hands still around my waist. "But I don't wanna talk about work right now," he admits stepping closer to me. _

"_Oh yeah? What do you want to talk about then?" I feign innocence. _

"_I don't want to talk at all actually," he replies kissing me. "I missed you today." _

"_Me too," I smile, placing my hands on his neck. _

"_No, you don't get it. I really really really missed you Gabi," he argues. _

"_Uh yeah, I do get it. I really missed you too Troy." _

"_No, you don't get it. I mean, today after like 10 minutes of goofing off with Chad, my stomach started to hurt. I thought I was hungry, but then I realised I just missed you." _

_His cute smile makes me melt. Gosh I love this guy so much. _

"_I love you so much Troy Bolton," I declare. _

"_And I promise to love you forever my beautiful love monkey." _

_I frown. That guy really has a way to ruin every romantic moment with his ridiculous nicknames. _

"_You promise?" I inquire curiously. _

"_Yep. I promise. Cross my heart and hope to die," he states seriously, making me giggle._

"_You really are the cutest guy in the whole world. By the way, my family's reuniting for this Christmas dinner thing. Do you want to come with me?" _

"_Didn't I just promise you my love? This involves doing everything to make you happy." _

"_So, you're coming?" I ask to make sure. _

"_You bet your sweet ass I am." _

End of Flashback

"Gabriella, we're here."

I refuse to open my eyes. Gosh I really am not looking forward to this gathering. By staying asleep, I might just get out of it.

"Gabi baby, we're here," Troy says shaking me.

"Leave me alone," I mumble.

"Sorry, no can do. Your parents are surely waiting for us, plus I would really like you to stop drooling in my car."

I sit up. Now, I'm awake. I wipe the side of my mouth with my hand. Ugh, I hate when this happens.

"Don't forget the drool off of your chin."

I retrieved the small mirror from my purse and inspect my face.

"Bolton, there's nothing there," I state drily.

"I know, but your expression was priceless," he laughs triumphantly. "Now, let's go."

"I hate you," I mutter, getting out the car.

When my feet touch the ground, he's already at the door. I catch up with him just in time.

"Gabriella!"

"Aunt Fanny!" I exclaim as I was engulfed into her arms.

"You grew so much."

"Mhm not really pretty sure I haven't grown since I was 16."

"I was talking about your breasts sweetie."

Pretty sure I became red in embarrassment. Especially as I heard Troy laugh beside me.

"Uh… thanks," I reply awkwardly, pulling away.

"Oh, where are my manners, come in come in," Aunt Fanny says letting us go inside the house. "I'm Stephanie, by the way, but everyone calls me Aunt Fanny," she continues, speaking to Troy.

"I'm Troy, it's nice to meet you."

Oh now he's polite?

"GABRIELLA AND HER BOYFRIEND TROY ARE HERE!" Aunt Fanny yells loudly attracting everybody's attention.

Upon seeing us, they all started cheering.

"Gabriella's got a boyfriend for Christmas!"

"Way to go Gabi! Knew it would happen eventually."

"Oh my God you breasts became so beautiful Gabriella."

Ugh, how embarrassing. Not the breasts thing (I'm used to that) but the boyfriend thing. One by one they all kissed us in greeting.

"Your boyfriend's so handsome," Granny says to me.

"You need to give me all the details between you and your hunk, alright?" my cousin Silvia winks.

"Your boyfriend…"

"HE IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" I scream, fed off with all the remarks. "He broke up with me yesterday," I add quickly pushing through the crowd.

I try to fight off the tears that are threatening to fall. Not only did the guy I'm in love with, dumped me but now I'm stuck with him during this stupid family thing. Once I'm in the backyard, I start to feel slightly better. I sit down on the bench.

"Gabriella honey, are you okay?"

I smile hugely as my parents come into view and engulfed them both into a big hug.

"I'm fine. Merry Christmas," I say.

"Ella, as strong as we know you are, your 'I'm fine' can't fool us," my father declare softly sitting beside me on the bench.

"As much as I would love to just curl up into a corner and cry my eyes out, I can't. Not right now. Especially since he's here," I reply.

"Want us to throw him out?" my mom asks, caressing my hair soothingly.

"That sounds lovely actually, but even if seeing him breaks my heart, I'm not mean enough to do that. Besides, he's my ride."

"Yeah, but you're our daughter and we want what's best for you."

"You guys are the best, but I'll be fine. It's only him after all. Silly, rude, stubborn, careless Troy Bolton. Everything's gonna be just fine."

I almost believed it. Two hours after our arrival, most of my family has bonded with Troy and proceeded to tell me how much of a 'funny and nice guy' he is. Even if I keep on repeating that I don't care, since he's my ex-boyfriend and all, they pretend they don't hear me. I'm seriously starting to get really really annoyed with Troy hitting it off with my whole family. At least, there's an upside to this, since he hasn't spoken to me in almost 30 minutes.

"Gabriella! My beautiful ex-girlfriend, come dance with me," he says appearing in front of me.

I blink. I haven't even realised he had stopped talking to my cousins.

"Uh, there's not really space to dance," I reply.

"Oh come on, you know we don't need much space to dance just the two of us," he retort sending me a conniving glance.

I clench my jaw. Why does he keep on bringing up the past us?

"There's no music," I respond.

"We never needed music!"

"Yeah, well now it's different since we're not together and all."

"We never used music even before we started going out."

"Let it go Bolton. There's no fucking music so that means we don't fucking dance," I snap.

"So you'll dance with me if there is music?" he questions, not missing a beat.

My eyes widen. Oh no.

"I never said that," I answer quickly.

"But you implied it. And that's good enough for me. Wait here; I'll just be one quick second."

"Bolton I never said…"

"Shhh. I'll be back, don't worry."

"But I don't…"

I sigh, not even bothering to finish my sentence since he'd already walked away from me. I get up and dash out of the living room. I really don't want to dance with him. It just hurts too much.

"Already trying to escape Montez?"

Wait, is that…? I slowly turn around and sees…

"SHARPAY!"

I jump into her arms, almost crying by how happy I am to see her right now.

"It's good to see you Gabi-el," she chuckles.

"You have no idea how happy I am that you're here. What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be at your parents' for Christmas?" I inquire quickly, pulling away.

"Whoah, slow down tiger. I'm here 'cause your mom invited me after she heard of your break-up with Mr. Crazy guy over there. I think she didn't know he was still coming. How is it by the way? Being here with your ex, I mean?"

"It's uh, I don't know weird. It's like I can't wrap my head around our break-up since he's here, you know? Mingling with my family; laughing with them; acting like he'd always belonged."

Suddenly I hear loud music starting to play. Oh no. The dance.

"Sharpay, I'll catch up with you later okay?" I say quickly, starting to panic.

"What? Where are you going?" she questions, confused.

"To hide!"

I did not even take three steps that I felt a hand catch my elbow. A big warm hand. Uh oh.

"Where are you going? The dance just started!" Troy state happily.

"I don't really feel like dancing right now," I retort trying to free my arm from his grasp.

"Oh come on! I went through all this trouble to put some music on so we could dance. Least you can do is dance with me," he says gently, stroking my hand.

"Ohhh Troy, Gabi, kiss!" my cousin Eliza yells.

Huh?

"We're beneath the mistletoe," Troy smirks.

Oh please no. I cautiously look up and see… nothing?

"There is no…"

I'm interrupted when his lips crash onto mines. I automatically snag my hands around his neck and pulled him closer.

"You're still so good at that," he sighs.

My eyes snaps open. Oh no, what did I do? I push him off and run to the living room. That bastard, he planned it. He planned to kiss me. Probably wanted to see if I'm still into him and now, he knows I still am.

"Gabriella what happened?" Sharpay asks, probably because I look murderous.

"That fucking bastard fucking kissed me," I hiss.

"What? Wasn't he the one who broke things off?"

"Yes! That's the fucking problem. He thinks we'd be better off apart, but he still acts like we're still fucking together!"

"Want me to talk to him?"

"Yes, please do," I nod. "Tell him to leave me alone."

"That's what I was planning to do anyway. Don't worry, Brielle, once I'm done with him, Troy Bolton will never even think of looking your way."

"You go get him Shar!"

I feel better as I watch her heading in my ex' direction. I know she'll manage to scare him enough. The girl's skilled at scaring people off. Wait, is she laughing? Is she seriously _laughing_ with my bastard of an ex? No. My eyes must be failing me. There is no way my best friend could possibly be laughing and getting along with the guy who broke my heart. I'm shell-shocked as she returns to me, still giggling.

"That guy's so funny," Sharpay says.

"Of course he is. Why do you think I've stayed with him for a whole year?" I reply, annoyed. "You are such a traitor."

"Oh Gabi, don't be over-dramatic. The guy's a real sweetheart."

"He broke my heart Sharpay!"

"You should talk to him. Not now, but you know, later, he could really surprise you."

"He broke up with me!"

"Yeah but it's for good reasons."

"I hate you," I hiss, glaring at my former friend.

"Oh Gabi, don't be like this!" she yells as I walk away from her.

The guy's turning everyone against me. Wasn't breaking my heart enough?

"Gabriella, this next song is for you."

I turn around, what is he doing now? Oh my Gosh, is Troy seriously going to sing? Apparently yes, since he has a mic in his hand. Yipee.

"I don't want a lot for Christmas  
There's just one thing I need  
I don't care about the presents  
Underneath the Christmas tree  
I just want you for my own  
More than you could ever know  
Make my wish come true  
All I want for Christmas is...  
You "

Why, oh why is he doing that to me?

"I don't want a lot for Christmas  
There's just one thing I need  
I don't care about the presents  
Underneath the Christmas tree  
I don't need to hang my stocking  
There upon the fireplace  
Santa Claus won't make me happy  
With a toy on Christmas day  
I just want you for my own  
More than you could ever know  
Make my wish come true  
All I want for Christmas is you  
You baby"

While he's singing, his eyes are always on me. When he says the lines: 'All I want for Christmas is you' he points at me. As if it wasn't clear enough that he's singing to me. By now, my whole family is gathered out in the living room, listening to him singing. For some reason, I can't make myself leave the room.

"Gabriella, all I want for Christmas is you," he finishes, smiling hugely.

Everybody starts clapping really loudly. I'm pissed. I'm fucking pissed. How can he act so cute and like he loves me when I know he doesn't? By now, he's standing in front of me, with this stupid smile on his face.

"Gabriella, I'm sorry for hurting you, I know it must've been really weird for you to see me act like I was still your boyfriend when I dumped you."

Does he need to bring this up now? My whole family is still watching and having him talk to me about our fucking break-up is fucking messed-up.

"Don't," I hiss bringing a hand up, stopping him. "I don't want to hear it. Don't you think you've hurt me enough?"

"Hasn't it occurred to you that the reason I didn't provide any reasons for me breaking up with you was because I never had one to begin with?"

I cross my arms.

"Gabriella, I love you. You're the one for me."

Wait, what is he saying now?

"You've always been the one for me. Ever since that day at Target where you were being a bitch to me because you got dumped, I knew I got to have you in my life. You're the cheese to my burger, you're the crust to my pizza, you're the sharpener to my pencil."

Ew. Did he seriously go there?

"There's no me without you Gabi. Will you marry me?"

WHATTT?

"Is this some kind of joke? I mean first you break my heart and now you're proposing?"

I'm baffled. I'm lost, confused and am freaking out.

"I know it's crazy. But I wanted to surprise you."

"You… you can't just do that! You can't just play with my emotions like they're some kind of toy!" I say lowly, swallowing harshly.

"Gabi…"

I don't let him finish and just run out the room, tears in my eyes. Can't believe he just did that. Can't believe he made me go through absolute hell because he wanted to 'surprise' me.

"Gabriella!" I hear Troy yell after me.

"Go away," I say, walking faster.

I'm outside on the street and it's cold. Hopefully the temperature will make him stop following me.

"Gabriella, I never meant to hurt you. Honest. I didn't think it would hurt you that bad," he explains, following me.

"Didn't think it would hurt? Troy, I'm in love with you. Of course it hurt like a bitch," I snap.

"I thought it would maybe hurt less if I didn't act like your ex. Thought it would be easier to swallow if I still acted like we were together."

"Well, it didn't. Just pained me more to know that you did all these sweet gestures when you weren't even mine anymore."

"I wanted you to have a good Christmas for once," he declares.

I stop walking. His tone just turned miserable. I turn around.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you've always had bad experiences with Christmas and I thought that if I could, you know, make it memorable, it would do the trick."

"Make it memorable?" I question curiously slowly making my way toward him.

"Yeah. I planned it a while ago. Actually, three months ago, when you did my laundry," he smiles. "I would make you think you would still get your heart broken by your boyfriend for Christmas, then I would turn things around and surprise you by asking you to be my wife. I didn't think it would turn out like this actually. I just wanted you to be happy for Christmas, just like you make me."

I just melted inside. How can I not forgive him? I lean in and kiss him on the lips tenderly.

"Thank you," I whisper. "I love you and I'd be delighted to have you as my husband."

"So, it's a yes?" he asks hopeful.

"You're stuck with me forever Bolton," I grin.

Hand in hand we go back inside my parents' house and upon seeing us, my whole family started cheering.

"Dibs on maid of honour!" Sharpay yells.

"Dibs on godmother!" my cousin Silvia announced.

"Wait, you guys all knew about this?" I inquire.

"Of course we did! What, you thought we would take his side over yours if you guys did break up?" Aunt Fanny responds.

As I get congratulation hugs from all my family members, I realise for the first time ever how awesome Christmas really is. It's not about gifts, it's about the moments.

"So, do you still think you're affected by the Christmas curse?" Troy questions in my ear.

"Nope. Think I have officially been cured," I smile as he kissed my head.

"Gabriella honey, did you leave your purse on the kitchen's counter?" my mom questions.

"Yeah, why?"

"I spilt the spaghetti sauce on it by accident. I'm so sorry."

Shit. All the Christmas cards were in there. Now, I've got nothing to give my family. Isn't life just great?

-HSM-

**MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY! ****Hope you all have fantastic holidays. **


End file.
